After a pretty disastrous PlayStation and Xbox launch back in 2021, Battlefield 2042 has certainly put in a lot of graft to turn things around, with countless community-driven changes and seven seasons of content. However, Battlefield 2042 Season 7 will also be its last, as EA says it is now “fully-committed” on a new Battlefield game.
If anyone tried to tell you that Battlefield 2042 was one of the best FPS games when it launched two and a half years ago, you’d have (quite rightly) laughed them out the door. It was buggy, its attempt at being an extraction shooter with the Hazard Zone mode was dull, and many of the core principles of the Battlefield series had been removed or altered. However, if you jump into the game today, you’d be pleasantly surprised. 2042 is now an excellent multiplayer game and much more recognizable as a true Battlefield experience. It’s also on Game Pass these days, and is now one of the best Xbox Game Pass games for squad-based shooter fans, in our opinion.
Despite initially promising only four seasons of content (which was understandable, given the game’s shaky reception at launch), Battlefield 2042 has gone on to deliver seven seasons of content. The most recent, titled Turning Point, came out on March 19, and although it’s going over well with players, EA has confirmed it will be the final major update for Battlefield 2042.
In a new blog post, the general manager for the Battlefield franchise, Byron Beede, says: “While we’ve enjoyed and are proud of creating these seasons of additional content for Battlefield 2042, it is now necessary for us to turn from the present to the future. What this ultimately means is that Season 7 will serve as the final season for Battlefield 2042. After Season 7 concludes, we will continue to support the game with new in-game challenges, events, modes, and of course, ongoing maintenance, but we are moving away from delivering official seasons.”
Beede acknowledges that many players will find this news “disappointing”, but says that the time is now right to make sure all the studios working on Battlefield are “fully-committed” to the next game in the series.
Speaking of studios, it has also been revealed that the Battlefield franchise is getting some extra support. Alongside 2042’s development trio of DICE, Ripple Effect, and Criterion, a new team at EA’s Motive Studio is being spun up to work solely on supporting Battlefield. This is the studio behind one of the most underrated Star Wars games, Star Wars Squadrons, and the excellent remake of Dead Space.
Well, when we say ‘extra’ support, this news does also come a few weeks after the EA shut down Ridgeline Games. The studio was formed in 2022 and was led by Marcus Lehto, the former game director on Battlefield, and was set to create a single-player experience that would likely be a campaign in the next title in the series. However, Lehto recently made the decision to leave EA and the studio has been shuttered. The development of Battlefield’s single-player offering has now been passed to Criterion.
The next Battlefield game reportedly has a “tentative” release date of October 2025, according to a recent report from Insider Gaming. Apparently, it’ll try and give Call of Duty Warzone a run for its money with a battle royale mode as well. As for when we’ll hear about it, we reckon there’s a chance a reveal or teaser could emerge this summer, if the game is still on course for 2025. However, the chances of seeing proper gameplay and getting detailed information on it is probably slim.
For more on some other excellent new Xbox games and new PS5 games, check out the recently-revealed Star Wars Outlaws release date, and see why The Last of Us and Far Cry voice actor Troy Baker has had to debunk some GTA 6 rumors.